When it comes to hot and fiery food, no other Indian cuisine perhaps comes close to Andhra food. While locals of a particular region will always swear that their food is the best, the popularity of Andhra delicacies in the rest of the country is evident when one visits the canteen at Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi during lunch time. This
superbly-managed eatery runs like a well-oiled machine and while there is always a six-deep line, you will definitely get seated within 10 minutes. And once the food starts coming, you forget about everything else other than the hot and delightful dishes placed in front of you in rapid
succession.
Veinchana Royyyalu
(Curried prawns from Kakinada)
This is a speciality of Kakinada cuisine where prawns are cooked with onions and fiery chillies.
Ingredients
400 gm prawns, cleaned and deveined
4 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3 onions, finely sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
5 green chillies, finely sliced
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
¼ tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1½ tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp oil
Coriander leaves for garnish
Method
Marinate the prawns for 20 minutes in half of the ginger-garlic paste, salt, turmeric and lime juice.
In a wok or kadhai, heat the oil and fry the cardamoms, cloves and fennel seeds for 30 seconds. Add the onions and fry on medium heat till lightly browned. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder and chilli powder and fry for about one minute, stirring continuously. Add chopped tomatoes and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add prawns, green chillies, salt and some water and cook for 5 minutes till the prawns are done. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve immediately with rice.
Mirchi Ka Salan (Green chillies cooked in peanut gravy)
After biryani, mirchi ka salan is perhaps the most well-known dish out of Hyderabad which gives perfect company to the biryani.
Ingredients
250 gm large green chillies, slit 100 gm onions, chopped, fried and made into a paste
25 gm ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 cloves
8-10 curry leaves
2 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in warm water
Oil as required
Salt to taste
For the salan paste
3 tbsp grated coconut
3 tbsp peanuts
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
10 black peppercorns
5 red chillies
Method
In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil and fry the green chillies till blisters form on the skins. Remove and keep them aside.
Dry roast all ingredients for the salan paste in a clean kadhai or fry pan and grind to a paste.
Press the tamarind pulp and extract the juice.
Reheat the oil and add the mustard seeds, when they start to crackle, add the cloves and the curry leaves. Mix in the onion paste and stir for 3
minutes.
Add the salan paste and continue stirring while pouring around 2 tbsp of water at intervals so the masala does not dry up. Add the tamarind pulp and half cup of water. Stir for 5
minutes until the gravy thickens. Add salt and fried chillies to the hot gravy.
Cook for another minute. Remove and garnish with finely-chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with biryani or rice.